Just got back from Florida. The weather was great, the prices high and going higher and the fishing was meh.
On a bright note, just when we were pulling into town there was a sign for a gun show in the next town where my parents had lived before passing. I decided to give it a try just to see what they had and valued.
Well, it seems the old military stuff isn't too important to them. They had numerous trapdoors, Krags and '03s all 'gun show' priced under $900. I happened on a seller who was just finishing a sale and waited for the final handshake. I walked up to him and said, "Are you tired of carrying around that Springfield?" And I guess he was because we made a trade with less than $650 invested on my side to bring home a nice 1888 Trapdoor with the rod bayonet that was proofed '1891'. It isn't in unused condition but the wood has cartouches as well as character and the bore is sweet.
It is in pieces on the table getting cleaned up and stabilized right now and I will post pics when done. This gun is a shooter and should clean up real nice. It may be a 'Bannerman' as the numbers and proofs don't match up, but for a shooter I care not. I have plenty of 45-70 and the ability to make more. This makes a nice companion to my Trapdoor carbine that I redid this summer and I plan to make smoke with them this deer season.
It is getting to be where 45-70 is a common caliber in my collection, my grandfather had a 1873 in his attic the whole time I was growing up. I am fulfilling a childhood desire, it would seem, but I do get a kick out of these old smoke poles.
If anyone wants to share their favorite load for these old guns I would like to hear them. I won't be running cased bullets (for any reason) through it. I have everything from 300 to 405gr including some of the long range 'steeple' projectiles and the ability to load paper wrapped.
For an addiction, I did pick a versatile one...
On a bright note, just when we were pulling into town there was a sign for a gun show in the next town where my parents had lived before passing. I decided to give it a try just to see what they had and valued.
Well, it seems the old military stuff isn't too important to them. They had numerous trapdoors, Krags and '03s all 'gun show' priced under $900. I happened on a seller who was just finishing a sale and waited for the final handshake. I walked up to him and said, "Are you tired of carrying around that Springfield?" And I guess he was because we made a trade with less than $650 invested on my side to bring home a nice 1888 Trapdoor with the rod bayonet that was proofed '1891'. It isn't in unused condition but the wood has cartouches as well as character and the bore is sweet.
It is in pieces on the table getting cleaned up and stabilized right now and I will post pics when done. This gun is a shooter and should clean up real nice. It may be a 'Bannerman' as the numbers and proofs don't match up, but for a shooter I care not. I have plenty of 45-70 and the ability to make more. This makes a nice companion to my Trapdoor carbine that I redid this summer and I plan to make smoke with them this deer season.
It is getting to be where 45-70 is a common caliber in my collection, my grandfather had a 1873 in his attic the whole time I was growing up. I am fulfilling a childhood desire, it would seem, but I do get a kick out of these old smoke poles.
If anyone wants to share their favorite load for these old guns I would like to hear them. I won't be running cased bullets (for any reason) through it. I have everything from 300 to 405gr including some of the long range 'steeple' projectiles and the ability to load paper wrapped.
For an addiction, I did pick a versatile one...
